In the five stages of grief, Boston sports radio is in the denial stage after watching the Celtics drop two games to the New York Knicks.
The Knicks don’t get no respect, certainly not from Boston sports media. They didn’t get any respect before their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with the Celtics. They didn’t get any respect after overcoming a 20-point deficit to win Game 1. And they’re still not getting any respect after overcoming a second 20-point deficit to win Game 2.
With the Celtics in a 2-0 series hole, sports radio host Mike Felger went on his 98.5 The Sports Hub radio show with Tony Massarotti and claimed he’s not worried at all, because the Knicks are trash.
“I’m not taking them seriously. I’m still not taking them seriously,” Felger insisted as Jim Murray chimed in to say he thinks the Celtics are winning the series.
“I’d take the odds and bet the Celtics for sure,” Felger continued. “And the Knicks still blow. Don’t let the Celtics off the hook by saying, ‘The Knicks are…’ No they’re not. They’re trash. You felt they were trash five days ago. You thought they were trash five weeks ago. You thought they were trash five months ago, five years ago, because you know why? They’re trash. They’re garbage.”
It’s one thing for a Boston homer to go on the radio and claim the Celtics are going to battle back to win this series. It’s even fine to argue the Celtics did more to lose the first two games than the Knicks did to win them. But garbage?
Celtics reporter Chris Forsberg blamed Game 1 on the weather and 7pm start time before dubbing the Knicks “cockroaches” after Game 2. And now you have Felger saying they’re trash. That seems like denial.
The Knicks couldn’t beat Boston in the regular season and were undoubtedly the less talented team. But no one is scared of the Celtics anymore. Instead, it’s the Celtics who are proving to get scared in the fourth quarter, especially as the game starts to get close. And at some point, the “trash” Knicks should garner at least a little bit of credit for exposing that.